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United States Patent |
6,029,536
|
Sugiyama
|
February 29, 2000
|
Shift lever assembly with breakable retaining member upon application of
excessive force
Abstract
In a shift lever assembly for a vehicle comprising a base member and a
shift lever pivotably supported by the base member, the shift lever is
detachable from the base member when an excessive force greater than a
prescribed value is applied to the shift lever. Typically, the base member
comprises a retaining member for holding the shift lever in an operable
position and the retaining member is given a strength so as to break when
an excessive force greater than a prescribed value is applied to the
retaining member to thereby release the shift lever. In this way, when an
excessive force greater than a prescribed value is applied to the shift
lever for example by being hit against by a driver or a passenger in a
traffic accident, the shift lever is detached from the base and retracted
into the instrument panel, thereby effectively preventing the shift lever
from causing damage to the driver or passenger. This shift lever assembly
is especially suitable for installation in the instrument panel facing the
driver or passenger.
Inventors:
|
Sugiyama; Takashi (Wako, JP)
|
Assignee:
|
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Tokyo, JP)
|
Appl. No.:
|
917096 |
Filed:
|
August 25, 1997 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S. Class: |
74/473.31; 74/473.33; 188/371; 188/376; 188/377 |
Intern'l Class: |
B60K 020/00; F16F 007/12 |
Field of Search: |
74/473.31,473.33
188/371,376,377
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
2193218 | Mar., 1940 | Best | 74/473.
|
3707095 | Dec., 1972 | Uhlenhaut et al. | 74/473.
|
Primary Examiner: Hannon; Thomas R.
Assistant Examiner: Hansen; Colby M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Armstrong, Westerman, Hattori, McLeland and Naughton
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A shift lever assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
a base member;
a shift lever pivotally supported by said base member and detachable from
said base member when en excessive force greater than a prescribed value
is applied to said shift lever;
a retaining member provided on said base member for holding said shift
lever in an operable position, said retaining member releasing said shift
lever from said base member when an excessive force greater than a
prescribed value is applied to said shift lever; and
a pivot member for supporting said shift lever so that said shift lever is
pivotable around a selection axis, said pivot member mounted in said base
member so as to be pivotable around a shifting axis which is at a right
angle to the selection axis, wherein said retaining member supports said
pivot member,
wherein said pivot member is generally cylindrical in shape, said base
member comprises a case adapted for mounting said pivot member so that
said pivot member is pivotable around said shifting axis, said case having
a bottom opening, and said retaining member is fastened in the bottom
opening of said case to support said pivot member.
2. A shift lever assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a gimbal
joint for pivotally supporting said shift lever, wherein said retaining
member supports said gimbal joint.
3. A shift lever assembly according to claim 1, wherein said retaining
member is fastened in the bottom opening of said case of said base member
with its edge portion engaged with a groove formed in an inside surface of
the bottom opening, said retaining member having a strength so as to break
when an excessive force greater than a prescribed value is applied to said
retaining member.
4. A shift lever assembly according to claim 1, wherein said retaining
member has a strength so as to break when an excessive force greater than
a prescribed value is applied to said retaining member.
5. A shift lever assembly according to claim 1, wherein said shift lever
assembly is installed in an instrument panel near a steering wheel.
6. A shift lever assembly for a vehicle, comprising;
a shift lever having a pivot member attached to a lower part thereof;
a base member having a case defining an open bottom and adapted to receive
said pivot member of said shift lever therein;
a seat assembly for pivotally receiving said pivot member in said case so
that said shift lever may be pivotable at least around a selection axis;
and
said seat assembly comprising a lower seat member which is retained in an
operable position by a retaining member, said retaining member being
fastened in said bottom opening of said case to retain said pivot member
at said operation position and adapted to release said shift lever when an
excessive axial force greater than a prescribed value is applied to said
shift lever.
7. A shift lever assembly according to claim 6, wherein said pivot member
is supported by said seat assembly so as to be pivotable around a shifting
axis which is at a right angle to said selection axis.
8. A shift lever assembly according to claim 7, wherein a pair of arms
extend from said pivot member for actuating respective control elements of
a transmission.
9. A shift lever assembly according to claim 6, wherein said pivot member
is generally cylindrical in shape.
10. A shift lever assembly according to claim 6, wherein said retaining
member is fastened in the bottom opening of said base member with its edge
portion engaged with a groove formed in an inside surface of the bottom
opening, said retaining member having a strength so as to break when an
excessive force greater than a prescribed value is applied to said
retaining member.
11. A shift lever assembly according to claim 6, wherein said retaining
member has a strength so as to break when an excessive force greater than
a prescribed value is applied to said retaining member.
12. A shift lever assembly according to claim 6, wherein said shift lever
assembly is installed in a part of an instrument panel near a steering
wheel.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a shift lever assembly of a vehicle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A shift lever for controlling the gear-shift of the transmission of a
vehicle is often installed in a center floor of the vehicle. Although this
configuration is suitable for directly operating the transmission in a
front-engine/rear-drive (FR) vehicle, it is not necessarily suitable for
an automatic transmission in a front-engine/front-drive (FF) vehicle. In
such a case, it may be more preferable to provide the shift lever in an
instrument panel near a steering wheel in order to achieve both good
operability of the shift lever and comfortableness of the vehicle
interior, particularly in a relatively small vehicle where the interior
space is limited.
In order to efficiently transmit the movements of a driver-operated shift
lever to the transmission, it is usually preferable that a shift lever
assembly have high rigidity and have no play in the mechanical parts
thereof. However, in installation of such a shift lever assembly in an
instrument panel facing a driver or passenger, it is preferable that the
shift lever assembly can absorb a force applied to the shift lever when
the shift lever is hit against by the driver or passenger, for example in
a traffic accident, to thereby effectively prevent the shift lever from
causing injury to the driver or passenger.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a shift
lever assembly which is suitable for installation in an instrument panel
facing a driver or passenger.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a shift lever
assembly which can effectively absorb a force applied to the shift lever
when the shift lever is hit against by a driver or passenger in a traffic
accident or the like, to thereby effectively prevent the shift lever from
causing injury to the driver or passenger.
A third object of the present invention is to provide such a shift lever
assembly as to be simple in design and reasonable in cost.
To achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a shift lever
assembly for a vehicle comprising: a base member; and a shift lever
pivotally supported by the base member and is detachable from the base
member when an excessive force greater than a prescribed value is applied
to the shift lever. The base member preferably comprises a retaining
member for holding the shift lever in an operable position and for
releasing the shift lever when an excessive force greater than a
prescribed value is applied to the shift lever. When a gimbal joint is
used for pivotally supporting the shift lever, the retaining member may
support the gimbal joint.
In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the shift lever
assembly, comprises a pivot member for supporting the shift lever so that
the shift lever is pivotable around a selection axis, the pivot member
being mounted in the base member so as to be pivotable around a shifting
axis which is at a right angle to the selection axis, and the retaining
member supports the pivot member. Typically, the pivot member is generally
cylindrical in shape, the base member comprises a case adapted for
mounting the pivot member so that the pivot member is pivotable around the
shifting axis, the case having a bottom opening, and the retaining member
is fastened in the bottom opening of the case to support the pivot member.
The retaining member can be fastened in the bottom opening of the case of
the base member with its edge portion being engaged with a groove formed
in an inside surface of the bottom opening and is preferably given a
strength so as to break when an excessive force greater than a prescribed
value is applied to the retaining member.
In this manner, when an excessive force greater than a prescribed value is
applied to the shift lever for example by being hit against by a driver or
passenger, the retaining member for holding the shift lever in an operable
position is removed so that the shift lever is detached from the base
member and retracted into the instrument panel, thereby effectively
preventing the shift lever from causing injury to the driver or passenger.
Thus, this shift lever assembly is especially suitable for installation in
the instrument panel facing the driver or passenger, and therefore is
greatly beneficial in achieving both good operability of the shift lever
and comfortableness of the vehicle interior especially in a relatively
small vehicle.
Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will
appear more fully from the following description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Now the present invention is described in the following with reference to
the appended drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a side cross sectional view of a shift lever assembly according
to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side cross sectional view of a shift lever assembly according
to the present invention adapted for use with a manual transmission;
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the line III--III in FIG. 2;
and
FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along the line IV--IV in FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a shift lever assembly according to the
present invention. As shown in the drawing, a shift lever 1 is supported
by a gimbal joint 3 provided in a base 2 which is securely attached in an
instrument panel IP at a position near a steering wheel S. The gimbal
joint 3 allows the shift lever 1 to be pivotally moved in both for-and-aft
(shifting) direction around a shifting axis and lateral (selecting)
direction around a selection axis. The shifting and selection axes are at
a right angle to each other. This shift lever assembly is suitable for use
with an automatic transmission which may be manually shifted by the shift
lever moved so as to follow a gate-pattern (or guide slot) adapted for
providing proper control to such manual range selection. Further, when
provided with means for transmitting the selection movements of the shift
lever 1, as described in more detail later, this shift lever assembly can
also be used with a manual transmission having a generally "H"-shaped gear
shift pattern.
As shown in FIG. 1, the shift lever 1 extending through the gimbal joint 3
has an extension 34 having an end 4 which is connected to a cable 5, which
in turn is connected to a control lever (not shown) of the automatic
transmission. The extension 34 is curved in a hook-like manner so that the
end 4 lies on the selection axis of the shift lever 1. In this way, the
selection movements of the shift lever 1 do not cause the end 4 of the
shift lever 1 to move transversely, thereby preventing the bending of the
cable 5 connected to the end 4.
Mounted on the base 2 is a guide plate 7 including a guide slot 6 through
which the shift lever 1 extends, the guide slot 6 determining the
allowable movements of the shift lever 1. The upper surface of the guide
plate 7 is preferably covered by an aesthetically colored and textured
outer surface 8. Further, a knob 9 to be handled by the driver is attached
to the upper end of the shift lever 1.
Also referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the gimbal joint 3 comprises a generally
cylindrically-shaped pivot member 31 which is mounted in a case 10 formed
in the base 2 adapted so that the pivot member 31 is pivotable around the
shifting axis. The pivot member 31 is provided with a hollow (or
through-hole) through which the shift lever 1 extends, and in the hollow
the pivot member 31 further includes a pivot pin 32 aligned with the
selection axis. On the pivot pin 32 is fitted an annular part 33 formed in
the shift lever 1 so that the shift lever 1 can pivot around the pivot pin
32, i.e., around the selection axis. In this way, the shift lever 1 is
supported so as to be pivotable around the shifting and selection axes
which are at a right angle to each other.
In assembling this shift lever assembly (FIG. 1), first the shift lever 1
attached beforehand in the pivot member 31 is inserted upwardly into the
case 10 through a bottom opening 10a thereof to mount the pivot member 31
in the case 10 together with a lower seat member 11. An upper seat member
10b, having a spherical inner surface to pivotally retain the pivot pin
31, is provided on the inside of the case 10. Then, a retaining member 12
is pushed in the bottom opening 10a so that its edge portion is securely
engaged with a groove formed in an inside surface of the opening 10a as
shown in the drawing. When pushed in the bottom opening 10a, the retaining
member 12 is somewhat deformed toward inside, and once the edge portion
thereof is engaged with the groove of the opening 10a, the retaining
member 12 is securely fastened to the opening 10a. In this configuration,
if an excessive force is applied to the shift lever 1 and hence to the
retaining member 12 for instance when an abrupt deceleration of the
vehicle causes a driver or passenger to move forward and to hit against
the shift lever 1, the edge portion of the retaining member 12 breaks so
that the retaining member 12 drops off from the opening 10a of the case 10
and the shift lever 1 is detached from the base 2 and retracted into the
instrument panel IP.
This shift lever assembly may be equipped with an interlock mechanism, such
as for preventing a particular range selecting operation or reverse-gear
selecting operation of the shift lever under certain conditions, and/or
may be equipped with a detent mechanism for giving a detent feel to the
driver when operating the shift lever. However, because these optional
functions are not directly related to the principle of the present
invention, further description thereof is omitted.
FIGS. 2 to 4 illustrate another embodiment of the shift lever assembly
according to the present invention. This embodiment is adapted for use
with a manual transmission. In this embodiment, the angle of the hook-like
bend of the shift lever 1 is more acute than in the first embodiment, so
that the end 14 connected to the cable 13 for transmitting the shifting
movements is brought closer to the gimbal joint 3 in order to provide a
room for accommodating another cable 17 for transmitting the selection
movements of the shift lever 1 to the transmission. However, the end 14
also lies on the selection axis of the shift lever 1 in the same fashion
as in the first embodiment. The second cable 17 is attached to one end 16b
of a lever member 16 for transmitting the selection movements of the shift
lever 1. The other end 16a (FIG. 3) of the lever member 16 is connected in
the ball-and-socket joint manner to a spherical part formed at the free
end of an arm 15 extending substantially laterally from the annular part
33 of the shift lever 1 and through an opening provided in a lateral side
of the pivot member 31 (shown in FIGS. 3 and 4). A middle portion of the
lever member 16 is connected to the base 2 so as to be pivotable around a
pivot axis parallel to the shifting axis (best shown in FIG. 4) so that
the lever member 16 operates in a seesaw-like fashion.
In this configuration, when the shift lever 1 is moved in the forward
direction, the first cable 13 is pushed downward, and when the shift lever
1 is moved in the rearward direction, the first cable 13 is pulled upward,
to thereby transmit the for-and-aft (or shifting) movements of the shift
lever 1 to the transmission. When the shift lever 1 is moved to the left,
the spherical part of the arm 15 is moved upward to push down the second
cable 17, and when the lever 1 is moved to the right, the spherical part
of the arm 15 is moved downward to pull up the second cable 17, to thereby
transmit these lateral (selecting) movements of the lever 1 to the
transmission. In this configuration, the shifting movements of the shift
lever 1 do not substantially move the second cable 17 longitudinally, and
the selection movements of the shift lever 1 do not substantially move the
first cable 13 transversely, and further, only the pushing and pulling
forces are applied to the cables 13 and 17 as in the first embodiment.
In the manual transmission, because the shift pattern is determined by the
transmission mechanism itself, the guide plate 7 and the outer surface 8
used in the first embodiment can be omitted. Instead, in the second
embodiment, the upper opening formed in the instrument panel IP for
accommodating the shift lever 1 is covered by a suitable protective cover
such as a rubber boot RB. The base 2 with two holes in its bottom for the
cables 13 and 17 in the second embodiment can also be used without any
significant modification in the first embodiment in which the base 2 is
required to have only one hole for the cable 3 because the unused hole
does not adversely affect the shift lever assembly either functionally or
aesthetically. Additionally, because the shift control of the manually
shiftable automatic transmission can be provided by the guide plate 7 as
shown in the first embodiment without using an additional interlock
mechanism, the shift lever 1 does not have to be equipped with an
additional mechanism such as a push button for releasing the interlock
mechanism. Therefore, the shift lever 1 can be commonly used in the first
and second embodiments. Further, although the present invention can be
practiced with a ball joint instead of a gimbal joint such as shown in the
embodiments, when a gimbal joint is used for pivotally supporting the
shift lever, there is an advantage that the rotation of the shift lever
around its longitudinal axis can be prevented even in the case of an
automatic transmission where only a cable for transmitting the shifting
movements of the shift lever is used and there is no lever member 16 or
the like which can function to prevent the rotation of the shift lever
around its longitudinal axis in the case of a manual transmission. Thus,
most of the components of the shift lever assemblies shown in the first
and second embodiments for use with an automatic transmission and for use
with a manual transmission, respectively, can be commonly used.
As described in the above, in a shift lever assembly according to the
present invention, when an excessive force greater than a prescribed value
is applied to the shift lever for example by being hit against by a driver
or passenger, the retaining member for holding the shift lever in an
operable position is removed so that the shift lever is detached from the
base and retracted into the instrument panel, thereby effectively
preventing the shift lever from causing damage to the driver or passenger.
Thus, this shift lever assembly is especially suitable for installation in
the instrument panel facing the driver or passenger, and therefore is
greatly beneficial in achieving both good operability of the shift lever
and comfortableness of the vehicle interior especially in a relatively
small vehicle.
Although the present invention has been described in terms of specific
embodiments thereof, it is possible to modify and alter details thereof
without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example,
the extension of the shift lever 1 may extend from a part of the shift
lever 1 above the gimbal joint 3 as long as the connection between the
extension and the cable lies on the selection axis. Further, the retaining
member 12 may be fastened in the opening 10a of the case 10 by various
means other than shown in the embodiments. For example, the retaining
member 12 can be fastened by screws or adhesive or by being pressingly
engaged with the opening 10a so that when an excessive force is applied to
the retaining member 12, the retaining member 12 breaks or dislodges from
the opening 10a to allow the shift lever 1 to be detached from the base 2
and retracted into the instrument panel IP.
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